I just played my first exhibition game of the year and none of my players improved in any area. Their formation ratings improved but I was expecting something in their skill ratings as well. Is this normal?

Well if you have a good memory next year before your first game remember some of your player ratings and you'll notice after the first game the ratings go up but doesnt record on your player improvement chart under team ratings. Its quite interesting but i'm 100% positive of this as I notice it with my key players each and every year. Just another gliche in the game ENJOY!